Fresh off winning an NBA title, the Milwaukee Bucks will have a quick turnaround with free agency officially set to kick off in the coming days.
First and foremost, fans should not expect any seismic changes to the roster following the team’s first championship in over 50 years. With little spending money and a depleted asset cabinet, the reigning chaps will likely keep their core intact. Yet, they could make some smaller moves to help round out the edges of this roster and bulk up the rotation further ahead of next season in hopes of making another run at a title.
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In that case, there are certainly an array of potential targets they could make a run at on the market, but an interesting exercise would be to look at potential targets that have played alongside the new champions previously, with Jrue Holiday particularly posing an interesting case.
Holiday played 11 seasons in the league before coming to the Bucks and has had his share of notable teammates. With that being said, here are five of those players the Bucks should target in free agency.
The Milwaukee Bucks could potentially target Jrue Holiday’s former teammate E’Twaun Moore in NBA Free Agency
Playing alongside each other for four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, E’Twaun Moore and Jrue Holiday are quite familiar with one another.
During those four seasons spent together, Moore’s strongest attribute was his 3-point shooting, as he shot 40.4 percent on 3.2 attempts per game. The guard provided a very welcoming dose of floor spacing for those Pelicans and he could do the same for the Bucks. The front office will always be in the hunt for more shooting to pair along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Moore would be a low-risk target to inquire about.
Moore spent this past season with the Phoenix Suns, the team that the Bucks just defeated in the NBA Finals. However, he was primarily glued to their bench as he played just 27 games during the regular season and saw no action in the Finals against Milwaukee. He will likely seek out a bigger role once he hits free agency this offseason, and whether his familiarity with Holiday means anything or not, he would be an easy target for the Bucks to look at.
The Milwaukee Bucks could potentially target Jrue Holiday’s former teammate Lou Willaims in NBA Free Agency
Lou Williams spent three seasons as Holiday’s teammate with the Philadelphia 76ers back in the day, and perhaps the two could look to reunite once again. The Bucks got a good look at Williams in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks, and he could be an interesting target on the free agent market this offseason.
The three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner had himself a down year, but part of that could certainly be attributed to the fact that he was traded from the LA Clippers to the Hawks before the deadline. Although Williams was unable to find his footing this year, his reputation as a lethal second-unit scorer is clear as day, given that he has averaged 20.4 points per game over the previous three seasons.
For the Bucks, they may have to evaluate their backcourt options in the second unit this offseason once free agency begins, and adding another ball-handler might be a smart move. Current backup point guard Jeff Teague is slated to become an unrestricted free agent, and he might be on his way out the door after a subpar showing in the postseason. If the team is looking for another veteran guard to handle the second unit by scoring and facilitating, Williams would be a worthy replacement to bolster this rotation.
The Milwaukee Bucks could potentially target Jrue Holiday’s former teammate Andre Iguodala in NBA Free Agency
Andre Iguodala spent some time on those 76ers teams alongside Holiday and Williams, and he could potentially be on the free agent market this also. Following a first round sweep at the hands of the Bucks, the Miami Heat will have to decide what to do with Iguodala’s team option worth $15 million for next season.
It seems reasonable to believe that the team could decline it, and if the 2015 Finals MVP is on the market, the Bucks could look to make a run at him to fortify their wing rotation. Iguodala would give them another top-notch defender to pair alongside Antetokounmpo and Holiday, fortifying this lethal defensive unit further than it already is. With two All-Defensive nominations under his belt, the forward has made a career with his defense, and he would fit right in like a glove.
For a team that is looking to repeat as champions, adding another savvy veteran like Iguodala would be a feasible idea. The 37-year-old has battled on the big stage consistently over the past several years, playing in six consecutive NBA Finals before that streak ended this season. Earning three NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors, which included winning the Finals MVP in 2015, Iguodala understands what it takes to be a part of a winning culture.
He will be one of the most in-demand role players in free agency this offseason if he does indeed get his option denied for next season. The Bucks have run into Iguodala in each of the past two trips to the playoffs, and perhaps they could look to get him on their side this time around.
The Milwaukee Bucks could potentially target Jrue Holiday’s former teammate Austin Rivers in NBA Free Agency
A rumored target for the Bucks for what seemed like the entirety of last season, Austin Rivers will hit the free agent mark this offseason.
After they traded away D.J. Augustin in the deal for P.J. Tucker, the Bucks desperately needed to add a backup point guard, and they were linked to Rivers. The Athletic’s Shams Charania noted that once Rivers received a buyout from the OKC Thunder at the deadline, the Bucks were the frontrunners to sign the guard, with mutual interest from both sides. However, for whatever reason, things did not pan out that way and the Bucks ultimately signed Jeff Teague.
With Teague also set to hit free agency, the Bucks will be in the market for a backup guard once again, and Rivers is someone they already had confirmed interest in. Letting bygones be bygones after whatever transpired between them last season, this long-awaited pairing of Rivers and the Bucks could finally come to fruition. The guard would likely not command a lucrative deal after a year where he struggled to find his footing, and joining the league’s reigning champions must be an enticing thought.
Signing with Milwaukee would also allow Rivers to reunite with an old running mate of his in Holiday, as the pair had a brief stint together with the Pelicans. The 28-year-old would be a great backup to Holiday to bulk up the guard rotation for next season, providing solid production along with battle-tested experience. Perhaps this time around the Bucks and Rivers could potentially strike up a deal, albeit under much different circumstances this time around.
The Milwaukee Bucks could potentially target Jrue Holiday’s former teammate J.J. Redick in NBA Free Agency
J.J. Redick will enter free agency this offseason with an uncertain future ahead, but perhaps a reunion with the Bucks could be in order.
Although Redick’s first stint with the team in the 2012-13 season did not go as planned, the Bucks did not have Holiday on the roster back then. Why that matters is because when Redick signed with the Pelicans during the 2019 offseason, the thought of playing alongside Holiday was among the driving factors in that decision. Redick would go into further detail on this in a previous episode of his The Old Man and the Three podcast. (Transcribed by Lonzo Wire’s Jacob Rude)
"“In conversations leading up to free agency, you know, I wanted to play with Jrue Holiday. I reached out to him and had a couple convos with him. That’s an example of, Jrue and I weren’t even friends but prior to that, we’d just played against each other and competed against each other. But I’d heard so many things about him from teammates and friends around the league that had played with him and knew him well. He was a big part of me going down to New Orleans.”"
Although Redick is coming off arguably the least productive season of his 15-year career by averaging 7.4 points on .397/.371/.942 shooting splits, the appeal is obvious. Redick is one of the best shooters in the game today, boasting a 41.5 percent mark from deep for his career. Giving Giannis Antetokounmpo another lethal shooter out on the perimeter is a recipe for success for this franchise, and those two would be a perfect match.
The Bucks would be banking on Redick to regain his shooting mojo, but it is no secret that the sharpshooting 37-year-old can heat up in a hurry.